The document discusses the relationship between language and critical thinking, emphasizing the importance of careful word choice, clarity, and definition to avoid ambiguity and miscommunication. It highlights that language can influence audience perception, acceptance of arguments, and the credibility of the speaker. Key concepts include the denotative and connotative meanings of words, the impact of emotional language, and the risks associated with ambiguous language.

1. LANGUAGE
& Critical Thinking

2. “Thought is the blossom; language, the
bud; action, the fruit behind it.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. LANGUAGE…
➤ Meanings are assigned to
words arbitrarily, and the
meaning of words in our
language can change as social
groups within the society use
them for their own purposes.
➤ An effective critical thinker
uses language that meets the
needs and expectations of the
audience, and is appropriate to
the time, place, person, and
occasion.

4. There are four areas of language that are important when it
comes to critical thinking.
➤ Word choice
➤ Ambiguity
➤ Definition
➤ Intensity

5. WORD CHOICE
➤ The meaning of words does not simply rest in the words
themselves but in the minds of the people who use and
receive them.
➤ Language is one of the most powerful agents of enculturation,
and therefore we must choose our words very carefully.
➤ Understanding is heavily related to vocabulary.
➤ Good word choice involved being able to look critically at
language and select the words that most accurately convey the
message.

6. AMBIGUITY
➤ When we argue, we use
language that we assume the
recipients can understand.
Arguers selecting
ambiguous language run the
risk of being misunderstood
and face rejection of their
advocated point of view.
➤ Euphemism: a less direct
term used in the place of a
more specific term which
may be considered offensive

7. AMBIGUITY
➤ Ambiguous language can cause confusion.
➤ Ambiguous language can lead to over-generalizing and
stereotyping. The greater the ambiguity, the more likely one is
to ignore individual differences and classify all members of
the group as being the same.
➤ Ambiguous language can lead to bypassing, which is when
people unintentionally use the same word to mean different
things or use different words to represent the same thing.
With ambiguous language, there is no real way of checking
the accuracy of the term against the actual event it is being
used to describe.

8. DEFINITION
➤ One way to avoid the problems caused by ambiguity is to
define your terms.
➤ Words convey two different meanings: denotative and
connotative.
➤ Denotative meaning: the way a word is generally used or the
meaning that people most frequently attach to a word
➤ Connotative meaning: the way a person emotionally
responds to a word

9. OTHER WAYS TO DEFINE WORDS
➤ Dictionary definition: formal definition
➤ Operational definition: definition by function or operation
➤ Definition by example: definition by citing specific instances
of a word or phrase
➤ Definition by negation: definition by telling what a word or
phrase is not
➤ Definition by etymology: definition by citing a word's
historical roots or point of origination
➤ Special definitions: use of slang or colloquialisms related to
modern English

10. INTENSITY
➤ The intensity level of one's language refers to the use of words
or phrases that often negatively raise the emotional level or
any communication encounter.
➤ Negative evaluative words: words that can only be
understood through a comparison with their opposite
➤ Strong emotive words: words which are used to describe
something, but really present the person's attitude toward
what is being described; goal is to get an emotional response
➤ Abusive language: use of obscenity, name calling, insults,
swear words, and off-color remarks that are usually of a racial
or sexual nature; usually for shock value

11. IMPACT OF LANGUAGE ON CRITICAL THINKING
➤ Language is related to audience
attention and comprehension.
➤ Language is related to audience
acceptance and rejection of an argument.
➤ Language affects arguer credibility.
➤ Language determines how people
interpret their environment.